Martin Draeger

It all started for me as an investor in professional film lighting. Ten years later, I’m the VP of Growth at that same lighting startup. Let’s talk about life saving light — XPLIGHT.

Greater Hamburg Area

About

Since 2016, I have been helping startups as a business angel to become visible and successful - for investors and clients, just by their story and their brand. My latest project involves the international marketing of a patented textile lighting technology to support military, law enforcement, and fire services worldwide. Background: Over the past 23 years, I have founded several companies of my own. One of them, Share-If-You-Like, a marketing network, was acquired by Unruly Media Group in 2013. Before that, I founded Germany's first viral marketing agency (DSG), which started in 2004 with the strategic planning and implementation of the first video campaigns for international clients such as T-Mobile, Olympus, OBI, AEG and others. As Managing Director DACH at Unruly from 2013 to 2019 I was responsible for, among other things, the close consulting business with many well-known creative agencies (JvM, S&F, Antoni, Grabartz, thjnk, etc.) and advised on numerous campaigns (EDEKA Supergeil, Burger King, BVG, VW, Mercedes, etc.).

Experience

  • VP Marketing and Sales at Carpetlight GmbH

  • Founder at DIALOG SOLUTIONS GROUP

    Pioneered a new era of digital and viral communication by building a specialized agency that helped global brands such as OLYMPUS, Telekom, L’Oréal, OBI etc. connect with audiences in meaningful ways. At the same time, launched Germany’s very first seeding agency – setting a benchmark for the strategic distribution of digital campaigns across national and international markets.

  • Managing Director at Unruly

    After selling Share-If-You-Like GmbH to the UNRULY Media Group, I became Managing Director of UNRULY DACH. In this role, I scaled the video media business across the German-speaking markets, grew the team to 35+ people, and partnered with top creative agencies such as Jung von Matt, Antoni, Saatchi & Saatchi, Scholz & Friends, thjnk, Philipp & Keuntje and more. I helped shape innovative marketing strategies that pushed the boundaries of digital communication and set new standards for impactful brand storytelling.

  • Founder and CEO at Shareifyoulike GmbH

    I led the development of an automated self-service SaaS platform for the distribution and management of viral video campaigns, bringing a new level of efficiency and scalability to digital marketing. The software quickly gained traction among leading German media and creative agencies, while we built a powerful reach network of more than 20,000 micro-publishers. At our Hamburg office, I ultimately guided a team of 20, driving innovation and impact at the intersection of technology and storytelling.

  • Founder and CEO at fatchd

    Developed and conceptualized a visual artificial intelligence designed for integration within an innovative dating app. Built a 12-member team, secured funding, and drove marketing efforts all the way to MVP product maturity.